Abundance of birds in Fukushima as judged from Chernobyl

Møller, Anders Pape; Hagiwara, Atsushi; Matsui, Shin; Kasahara, Satoe; Kawatsu, Kencho; Nishiumi, Isao; Suzuki, Hiroyuki; Ueda, Keisuke; Mousseau, Timothy A.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2012.01.008

Cited by 109 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The overall pattern was very similar for birds in Fukushima in July of 2011, with the strength of the negative relationship between abundance and radiation significantly stronger in Fukushima when comparing the 14 bird species that were common to both regions (Møller, Hagiwara, et al 2012;Møller, Nishiumi, et al 2013). The observed stronger relationship in Fukushima could reflect the difference between acute and chronic exposures, with Chernobyl bird populations showing a response to 20+ years of selection for resistance, or this could reflect the effects of other radionuclides (e.g., I-131 and Cs-134) that were present at high levels in Fukushima during the spring of 2011 that are no longer present in Chernobyl.…”

Section: Abundance and Diversity Of Birds Butterflies And Other Invmentioning

confidence: 74%

Genetic and Ecological Studies of Animals in Chernobyl and Fukushima

Mousseau

Møller

2014

Journal of Heredity

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Recent advances in genetic and ecological studies of wild animal populations in Chernobyl and Fukushima have demonstrated significant genetic, physiological, developmental, and fitness effects stemming from exposure to radioactive contaminants. The few genetic studies that have been conducted in Chernobyl generally show elevated rates of genetic damage and mutation rates. All major taxonomic groups investigated (i.e., birds, bees, butterflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, spiders, mammals) displayed reduced population sizes in highly radioactive parts of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. In Fukushima, population censuses of birds, butterflies, and cicadas suggested that abundances were negatively impacted by exposure to radioactive contaminants, while other groups (e.g., dragonflies, grasshoppers, bees, spiders) showed no significant declines, at least during the first summer following the disaster. Insufficient information exists for groups other than insects and birds to assess effects on life history at this time. The differences observed between Fukushima and Chernobyl may reflect the different times of exposure and the significance of multigenerational mutation accumulation in Chernobyl compared to Fukushima. There was considerable variation among taxa in their apparent sensitivity to radiation and this reflects in part life history, physiology, behavior, and evolutionary history. Interestingly, for birds, population declines in Chernobyl can be predicted by historical mitochondrial DNA base-pair substitution rates that may reflect intrinsic DNA repair ability. Subject areas: Conservation genetics and biodiversity Key words: birds, Chernobyl, Fukushima, invertebrates, mutation, radiation The notion that populations may have evolved adaptive responses to the mutational pressures imposed by chronic, multigenerational exposure to low-dose-rate radioactivity has been a prime motivator for recent studies of populations of plants and animals inhabiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. And the disaster at Fukushima, although ongoing and hugely tragic, provides a unique opportunity to replicate, validate, and certainly test the generality of the findings from studies conducted previously at Chernobyl. The availability of a replicate site with similar characteristics with respect to amount and type of radioactive materials in the environment, as well as significant similarities among species present in both areas, provides for a level of scientific rigor not often available when studying large-scale ecological disasters.The overarching thesis of the research conducted by our group has been that chronic exposure to radionuclides will result in genetic damage (i.e., single and double strand breaks in DNA) and increased mutation rates (e.g., single nucleotide polymorphism, deletions, insertions, etc.) in both somatic and germ cell lines within individuals. It is expected that some portion of the genetic damage and mutational load will generate physiological, developmental, and behavioral effects on organisms, and tha...

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Section: Abundance and Diversity Of Birds Butterflies And Other Invmentioning

confidence: 74%

Genetic and Ecological Studies of Animals in Chernobyl and Fukushima

Mousseau

Møller

2014

Journal of Heredity

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“…The effects of ionising radiation on non-human biota have been a concern since the accident (Callaway, 2013;Schiermeier, 2011a, b), and some related studies have been conducted (e.g., Akimoto, 2014;Evangeliou et al, 2013;Fisher et al, 2013;Garnier-Laplace et al, 2011;Hiyama et al, 2012;Johansen et al, 2014;Kryshev et al, 2012;Kubota et al, 2015;Møller et al, 2012Møller et al, , 2013Strand et al, 2014;Yamashiro et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Dose rate estimation of the Tohoku hynobiid salamander, Hynobius lichenatus , in Fukushima

Fuma¹,

Ihara

Kawaguchi³

et al. 2015

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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“…This large-scale environmental pollution has impacted the lives of organisms living in the polluted areas. A field study revealed that the number of butterflies decreased in the polluted areas [1,2], and morphological abnormalities have been detected in aphids from Fukushima [3]. However, such studies examining the biological impacts of the accident are still scarce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestion of radioactively contaminated diets for two generations in the pale grass blue butterfly

et al. 2014

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BackgroundThe release of radioactive materials due to the Fukushima nuclear accident has raised concern regarding the biological impacts of ingesting radioactively contaminated diets on organisms. We previously performed an internal exposure experiment in which contaminated leaves collected from polluted areas were fed to larvae of the pale grass blue butterfly, Zizeeria maha, from Okinawa, which is one of the least polluted localities in Japan. Using the same experimental system, in the present study, we further examined the effects of low-level-contaminated diets on this butterfly. Leaves were collected from two localities in Tohoku (Motomiya (161 Bq/kg) and Koriyama (117 Bq/kg)); two in Kanto (Kashiwa (47.6 Bq/kg) and Musashino (6.4 Bq/kg)); one in Tokai (Atami (2.5 Bq/kg)); and from Okinawa (0.2 Bq/kg). In addition to the effects on the first generation, we examined the possible transgenerational effects of the diets on the next generation.ResultsIn the first generation, the Tohoku groups showed higher rates of mortality and abnormalities and a smaller forewing size than the Okinawa group. The mortality rates were largely dependent on the ingested dose of caesium. The survival rates of the Kanto-Tokai groups were greater than 80%, but the rates in the Tohoku groups were much lower. In the next generation, the survival rates in the Tohoku groups were below 20%, whereas those of the Okinawa groups were above 70%. The survival rates in the second generation were independent of the locality of the leaves ingested by the first generation, indicating that the diet in the second generation was the determinant of their survival. Moreover, a smaller forewing size was observed in the Tohoku groups in the second generation. However, the forewing size was inversely correlated with the cumulative caesium dose ingested throughout the first and second generations, indicating that the diet in the first generation also influenced the forewing size of the second generation.ConclusionsBiological effects are detectable under a low ingested dose of radioactivity from a contaminated diet. The effects are transgenerational but can be overcome by ingesting a non-contaminated diet, suggesting that at least some of the observed effects are attributable to non-genetic physiological changes.

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Abundance of birds in Fukushima as judged from Chernobyl

Cited by 109 publications

References 10 publications

Genetic and Ecological Studies of Animals in Chernobyl and Fukushima

Genetic and Ecological Studies of Animals in Chernobyl and Fukushima

Dose rate estimation of the Tohoku hynobiid salamander, Hynobius lichenatus , in Fukushima

Ingestion of radioactively contaminated diets for two generations in the pale grass blue butterfly

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